By CHRIS SWEENEY

HARDCORE ravers EnterShikari know their newalbum is superb — as it’spassed the ultimate test.The gang took a gambleand recorded it in an idyllicfishing village called BangSaray, just south of Bang-kok in Thailand.But they didn’t bother doingany sightseeing or lapping upthe beach paradise because thetunes were so good they didn’twant to take a break.Frontman Rou Reynolds said:“Personally, I was so excited tobe recording the songs and hear-ing them come together, I didn’twant to stop.“It was a really amazingquaint place, basically in themiddle of nowhere and right bya forest, it was incredible.“But we didn’t actually leavethe studio that much.“And even though there wasall this amazing forest and coast-line around us, I was locked intorecording.“It’s a pretty good sign aboutthe new stuff, if we can turndown those things to work.”The summer trip to the FarEast not only got the band inthe zone.It was also CHEAPER thanrecording back home in the UK.Rou, 25, explained: “We startedoff in Old Street and ourproducer had mentioned thisfriend of a friend who’d openeda studio in Thailand.“It started off as a runningjoke, we’d be commuting intodirty London to this little studiobut saying, ‘Don’t worry, nextweek we’ll go there’.“Then more and more wetalked about it andstarted looking intoit.“It turned outthe guy was offer-ing us a reallygood deal, so itcost the sameamount to fly outthere and do it —so we all said,‘F*** it, let’s go’.“Apparently Jamiro-quai did a weekthere.“But we were the firstproject to do a fewmonths.“All the songs were writ-ten by the time we gotout there, but the relaxedlifestyle did play a part.“They call it the Landof Smiles and it put us ina relaxed and determinedmood, we were focused.”While the yet untitledalbum — due out in early2012 — was made inserene circumstances,it’s definitely not goingto be played in them,as Enter Shikari —who’re also guitaristRory Clewlow, drummerRob Rolfe and bass playerChris Batten — are notorious fortheir bonkers gigs.They’re banned from doingin-store shows in London due tothe damage caused in the past.And it’ll be more of the sameon their current UK tour, whichstops at Glasgow’s Barrowlandnext Thursday.Rou has even warned anyvenues to EXPECT some carnage,after getting sick of seeing theircrowd-surfing fans being treatedaggressively.He regularly stops gigs to givesecurity teams a mouthful andreckons it’s about how peopledeal with the situation.Rou rasped: “At the Readingand Leeds festivals we’ve hadthe most ridiculous crowd surf-ing. They love us and we got onreally well with their security.

But it’s a mixed bag. When wewent to Russia last month, thesecurity guys were appalling.“They were putting kids inheadlocks as they came over thebarrier and dragging them away— they were so violent.

Shout“We stopped and had a goodshout at them — who knows ifthey understood?”The boys have got a massivefollowing in the UK but now it’sstarting to happen all over theworld with new singleSssnakepit, the first from thenew album, going down a storm.They’ve just done a stintaround Europe and after here,they head for a solid two-monthtour of America — the total run

is a stonking 74 dates. Rou said:“Regardless of where the venueis we go out there and see whathappens.“But it’s still a learning curve.We were asked to do a frontcover shoot for a magazine inJapan but me and Rory hadrugged facial hair.“They wouldn’t have that, theysaid they didn’t allow that inpictures, so we had to shave.“Every now and then you haveto do something to fit in.”The boys are also hell-bent onshaking things up. They reckonthe commercial music world is ina poor state and NEEDS change.Rou added: “I’m constantlyastonished we get Radio 1daytime plays.“I’m sure there’s a lot of peo-

ple listening to the radio going‘what the hell is this?’ and thenswitching over.“The thing is, what radiostations think are small musicgenres are becoming so big now.“I really don’t think radio sta-tions can carry on just playingBeyonce. They’ll have to adapt.“A lot of metal and punkbands seem to be striving to bemiddle of the road.“But we get bored and try topush things forward all the time.”Q To win a pair of tickets to EnterShikari’s sold-out gig in Glasgow onThursday, just tell us: In which coun-try did they record their new album?Email your answer and contactdetails to chris.sweeney@the-sun.co.uk by midnight tonight. UsualScottish Sun rules apply.

BY JIMGELLATLY

CITIES & SKYLINESWHO: David Napier (vocals),Bryan McGuire (guitar), BryanThompson (guitar), DavidGosling (bass), Dougie Millar(drums)WHERE: GlasgowFOR FANS OF: At The Drive In,Twin Atlantic, LostprophetsJIM SAYS: Continuing the waveof amazing rock acts emergingfrom Scotland at the moment,Cities And Skylines are all set totake the leap to the next level.Epic alt rock, packed with

hooks, the boys’ new EPHurdles oozes class.It’s perhaps predictable that I

liken any rock act with a Scottishaccent to Biffy Clyro. Truth is,Biffy are the benchmark, withTwin Atlantic the pretenders.I’m rather proud of the fact I

gave both their first-ever radioplay. These two acts are pavingthe way for countless others,and if that association gets newtalent some profile, I’ve not gotan issue with it.The whole singing in a Scots

accent thing is old hat, anyway.For me, it’s about national

identity and being proud ofwhere you come from. Hearingso much new music comingthrough, Scottish singers withAmerican accents now seem theexception. I think that’s brilliant,and it really shows a change inperception.It really came to light meeting

up with the other panellists for

STV’s Scotland’s GreatestAlbum. Aside from the obviousexceptions like Alex Harvey andThe Proclaimers, it seems thatour stars wanted to disguisetheir identities in the past.Perhaps bands have felt it

necessary to get taken seriouslybefore, but that’s all changed.America has lapped up

Scottish acts like FrightenedRabbit and We Were PromisedJetpacks. If anything, a grouplike Cities And Skylines nowhave more of a chance to crackthe States.With the growth of the internet

and music being moreaccessible than ever before,bands really have the wholeworld at their feet.There’s no need now to pump

out a wee release locally andhope it builds. All these bandshave access to a global market.With the right exposure, CitiesAnd Skylines’ new EP couldeasily be a landmark release.With big production courtesy

of Bruce Rintoul at Lofi Studios,you’d be forgiven for thinking itwas a major label, huge budgetaffair rather than through risingScots indie label Ignite Records.A wonderful amalgamation of

power and melody, Cities AndSkylines are set to grab thespotlight and become one of thecountry’s biggest bands.MORE: citiesandskylines.comQ Jim will be playing Cities AndSkylines on In:Demand Uncut— Sunday 7-10pm on Clyde 1,Forth One, Northsound 1,Radio Borders, Tay FM, WestFM & West Sound FM. Seejimgellatly.com. Photo byJoshua Aaron Porter

BY TOMCHURCHILL

SOME of the biggest names inmusic are coming to Scotland —and YOU could win the chance tosee your favourite.We’ve teamed up with our pals atgigsinscotland.com — Scotland’sNo 1 listings site for exclusive gignews, pre-sales and ticket info —to offer 12 lucky readers a greatnight out with a pal.Listed below are 12 gigs taking

place over the coming months,with everything from Katy B to TheSpecials and Professor Green toKaiser Chiefs.

Just answer a simple ques-tion, then tell us which gigyou would like to see.Choose from:

Katy B – O2 Academy,October 14

Darren Hayes – O2ABC, October 16The Specials –

SECC, October 18Toploader – O2

ABC 2, October 21The Maccabees – Liq-

uid Room, October 27Magazine – O2 ABC,

November 5Steve-O – O2 ABC,

November 6

The Darkness – HMV Picture-house, November 9 or O2 Acad-emy, November 10Professor Green – Barrowland, Nov

28 or HMV Picturehouse, Nov 29Shed Seven – HMV Picturehouse,

December 1Only Men Aloud – Glasgow Royal

Concert Hall, December 2Kaiser Chiefs – O2 Academy,

February 10To enter, simply tell us: Who is

lead singer of Kaiser Chiefs?Then text WIN plus your answer,

name, address and the gig youwould like to see to 61192.Texts cost £1 plus standard

network rates. Over-18s only.Competition closes at midnight. If

you text after the closing date/time,you will not be entered but you maystill be charged.Twelve winners, selected at

random, will each win a pair oftickets for their chosen gig. UsualScottish Sun rules apply.For more information

on the hottestshows inS c o t l a n d ,log on togigsinscot-land.com

!STREETRAVE @ TheArches, Glasgow,

tomorrow: This Scots clubbinginstitution is an impressive 22years old this weekend, andthere’s a suitably epic line-up tocelebrate.Tech-house superstar James

Zabiela, below, headlines themain room along with Germanduo M.A.N.D.Y, while theold-school archfeatures Shades OfRhythm, TheBassheads andHooligan X,along withStreetraveveterans JonMancini andBoney.

$TRIBUTE @ La Cheetah,Glasgow, tonight: Five of

the city’s premier undergroundhouse and techno collectives –Stay Plastic, Pest Control, AllCaps, Scrabble and Jelly RollSoul – join forces for a brandnew venture.Kicking things off is Detroit’s

DJ Stingray – also the founder ofUrban Tribe – who’ll be bringinghis precision-honed electrosound to the city centrebasement, with support fromMatt All Caps and Dommm.

%WONKY @ Bongo Club,Edinburgh, tonight: A

unique twist on hip hop,breakbeat and electro from theinimitable Grandma Sta Flash,backed up by The FuriousGrandads on live brass.Wolfjazz and Hobbes also take

to the decks to celebrate the firstbirthday of this freestyling clubnight.

&EDIT @ GreenRoom/Below Stairs,

Edinburgh, tomorrow:Manchester’s finest TheUnabombers hit the capital andthey’re guaranteed to get theparty jumping.Renowned around the world

for their eclectic sets, you canexpect a mix of house, disco, hiphop, broken beat, Latin, R&Band northern soul, ablysupported by John Tokyobluand Barry Fell.

(HUSH @ Lourenzos,Dunfermline, tonight:

Glasgow legends Slam –currently celebrating 20 years oftheir Soma record label – headeast to showcase their uniquebrand of techno.Rab Clark, Hans Kato and

Mick Macneil are on warm-upduty.Q You can email your news andlistings to tom.churchill@the-sun.co.uk

SHOEGAZING is back— thanks to top-drawer wall-of-noisemerchants SpotlightKid.Everywhere they go,the Nottingham outfit getlabelled as the band whoare kick-starting therevival.The scene — famous inthe early 90s — is calledshoegazing as the bands

who pioneered it wereshy and non-confrona-tional, hence the ideathey’d rather be lookingat their feet during a per-formance.Frontman RobMcCleary said: “I’ve gotthe fringe, but I’ve neverlooked at my shoes onceat a gig, I’m usually try-ing to climb an amp orthe railings.“I don’t do anythingbut look up and I can’t

stand still. People mightthink we’re going to bereally quiet and stand inone place — no way,we’re mental.“We haven’t sat downand thought about howto bring a scene back. Itjust happens that weplay our guitars with alot of delay and reverb.“Glasvegas have thatsame guitar sound.“You have to be taggedsomehow — we’re a pop

band with a lot of gui-tars. Call us what youwant, as long as you likewhat we’re doing.”The band have been ona roll since a standoutperformance at Glaston-bury back in June.Their first UK tour —including a date at Glas-gow’s Stair Club nextSaturday — kicks off onMonday, ahead of therelease next month oftheir debut album Disas-

ter Tourist, which wasmade in a pressure-cooker environment.Rob, 28, explained: “Werecorded it live in twodays. We went to a studioin Norwich, set all thegear up and did it.“We’re a live band andwanted to capture that butwe also had no money, nobacking — we could onlyafford two days.“There was no time foroverdubs and making itperfect — we’ve kept thelittle dents and abrasions.“It’s just us, there’s nobells and whistles so it’sa perfect introduction.“It was a big thing toput the red light and go,this is the album.“We had to be ‘on it’ —and we were.”The album’s title wasconceived during the riotsin England in August.Rob explained: “Chris,our dummer, was watch-ing all of that on TV.“They were smashingsome shop to bits andthere was this guy stand-ing watching them do it.“In Holland they havea name for that, a disas-ter tourist. So that was it— all the band went ‘yes,we’re having that’.“Someone standingthere watching all thischaos around them — itfits with us.”Q Get tour tickets atspotlightkidsound.co.uk

NEWMUSIC

ONES2WATCH

CLUBBING

BYCHRIS

SWEENEY

BANGING Scouserockers Sound OfGuns are about to goon a UK tour.Catch them at The

Ironworks, Inverness,on October 21 — thenDundee and Glasgowthe following nights.See soundofguns.com

NEWCASTLE groupTomahawks ForTargets call their stylejigsaw pop as it’s areal mish-mash.But debut single

The Total Collapse OfIt All is a belter. Seemyspace.com/toma-hawksfortargets

4 SFTW Friday, October 7, 2011